Philadelphia Union will be without starting
forward Alejandro Moreno Thursday night against the LA Galaxy, with the veteran
featuring for the Venezuelan National Team in FIFA action against Bolivia the same day and Mexico on October 12.

“I am very proud to continue to
represent my country at the international level,” said Moreno. “National team
call-ups should always be a privilege and honor for any player. It certainly
means a lot to me.”

The downside to his
call-up, of course, is being out of action for the Union in front of a sold out
crowd at PPL Park.

“Unfortunately,
playing for my national team sometimes means that I miss games with my club,”
Moreno added. “Of course, this is not ideal, and I look forward to rejoining
the Union next week after my international duty.”

Arrieta makes an impact with the Puerto Rican
National Team

Defender Cristian Arrieta will be available for
selection to the 18-man roster on Thursday after returning from San Juan,
Puerto Rico. The 31-year-old helped lead the Puerto Rican National Team to
three consecutive wins in Group A action of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. The 2009
USL MVP, who scored 17 goals and 7 assists between 2008-2009 with the Puerto Rico
Islanders, headed home the squad’s second goal on Monday in a 2-0 win against
St. Martin.

“So far it has been a very important experience
for me,” Arrieta said earlier in the week. “Having the opportunity to play for a national team
brings you a lot of responsibilities as well as motivation. A country
trusts in you and supports you to achieve results never achieved before. I also
had the chance to score a very important goal that closed our second game and
I'm very happy for everything I'm experiencing these days.

“I really miss Philadelphia and my teammates
there, and it's hard for me to not be there for our games, and only having the
possibility to follow them online. But my teammates know I'm there with
them in spirit, and I'll finally report back on Thursday, very motivated and
feeling really well physically. Although I haven't trained with the team
for a while, if the coaching staff needs me, I'll be there 100 percent ready to give
everything for the Union.”